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2 weeks ago | 
smartluxury.com | Alexandra Owens
Best known as South Africa's financial capital and a layover for safari-goers, Johannesburg (nicknamed Joburg or Jozi) has — historically speaking — not landed on many top or "must-see" destination lists. Now, that's all changing as a flourishing community of dynamic creatives and entrepreneurs transform the country's most populated urban center and one of the youngest major cities in the world into South Africa's artistic heartland.
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2 weeks ago | 
smartluxury.com | Emily Monaco
In the heart of France, 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) east of Bordeaux, Périgord has long been synonymous with black gold: Aromatic Tuber melanosporum, aka Périgord truffles, which are one of the most expensive ingredients in the world. The region's chalky soils are naturally well-suited to truffles, but it took the 19th-century devastation wrought by phylloxera, which wiped out half of the country's vineyards, for the fungus to really take hold.
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2 weeks ago | 
smartluxury.com | Claire Turrell
With rolling green hills, turquoise lagoons, and endless golden beaches, Sumba is one of the world's last true unspoiled isles. Located in Indonesia to the southeast of Bali, this remote paradise is twice the size of its more famous neighbor, and until now, has remained in its shadow.
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3 weeks ago | 
smartluxury.com | Melanie Haiken
Craning my neck to survey the gleaming tilework adorning the Hazrati Imam Complex in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, it hits me — nowhere except perhaps the Caribbean Sea have I seen so many variations of blue. From teal to turquoise, from azure to aqua, they compete with each other in the depth and vividness of color.
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1 month ago | 
smartluxury.com | Michelle Gross
It was just after midnight by the time I arrived at my hotel room in Okinawa, and there was little to see from my oceanview balcony, with the exception of a few twinkling lights bobbing in the distance. I've traveled far and wide across Japan's 47 prefectures, but March 2023 marked my inaugural visit to the country's remote island archipelago, and I couldn't wait for daylight to see if the island's reputation as "the Hawaii of Japan" lived up to the hype.
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1 month ago | 
smartluxury.com | Charukesi Ramadurai
As a part of the Golden Triangle of tourism along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur has always been one of India's most popular tourist destinations. The salmon-hued sandstone façades within its Old City — maintained by government decree — give it the moniker of "Pink City", but aside from these buildings in muted hues, you will encounter an explosion of color on the streets, especially in the markets selling an array of dazzling clothing and handicrafts.
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1 month ago | 
smartluxury.com | Charukesi Ramadurai
Here's some trivia we bet you didn't know: Ulaanbaatar (variously spelled Ulan Batar and even Ulan Bator) is the world's coldest capital city, with winter temperatures falling to minus 40 degrees F. But then, only the truly brave venture to Mongolia during the winter months — those (literally) in search of chills and thrills or on the trail of the elusive snow leopard.
For the rest of us, Mongolia is an enigma waiting to be discovered, and the best place to start is its capital city.
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1 month ago | 
smartluxury.com | Shikha Shah
Sitting on a fine sand beach with my travel sketchbook and portable watercolor set, I attempted to render the picture-postcard scenery comprising unbelievably clear turquoise waters and mystical granite boulders fringed by endemic greenery. The serenade of the crashing waves was often interrupted by strong gusts of wind that blew away my art supplies. However, the sun was shining after two days of incessant rain and one must seize the day.
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Jan 9, 2025 | 
smartluxury.com | Katie McElveen
For most of us, a day at the spa is a pampering diversion from everyday life. But what if you could extend a spa day or weekend into a multi-week wellness journey that left you enduringly calm, focused, strong, and, at the end, fully equipped to reclaim your life? You'd be part of the fast-growing trend of wellness sabbaticals, which are defined by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) as stays of three weeks or longer.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
smartluxury.com | Tamara Gane
Lake Tahoe glitters in the Sierra Nevada mountains like a sapphire moon. At 22 miles long, 12 feet across, and with a surface area of 191 square miles, it’s the largest alpine lake in North America. Peaks as high as 10,000 feet soar above the shoreline, sending their reflection tumbling into the water.
Mark Twain called Lake Tahoe, “the fairest picture the whole Earth affords.” Over 150 years later, it’s hard to dispute his findings. This doesn’t mean things haven’t changed.